Local man shot and killed while lying in driveway

Wednesday

May 22, 2013 at 11:36 AMMay 23, 2013 at 7:53 AM

Katie UrbaszewskiStaff Writer

After smoking cocaine, a man shot someone with a rifle near his house that he admits posed no threat to him, the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office said.The alleged shooter, Robert Paul Chouest, 30, 188 ABC Lane, is charged with second-degree murder as a result.Shawn Galjour, 41, of Larose, was shot in the head. He had been walking along ABC Lane in Cut Off early Wednesday morning, where he was found dead after deputies responded to a call of a shooting about 4:45 a.m., detectives said.According to Chouest, he noticed Galjour lying in a neighbor's driveway and tried to talk to him, the Sheriff's Office said in a statement. According to Chouest, when Galjour did not respond, he fired one round from a scoped rifle. Chouest told detectives that he shot him because he did not know Galjour's intentions.

Detectives said Chouest admitted he felt Galjour posed no threat to him, and Chouest admitted to smoking crack cocaine before the shooting.Chouest was arrested after detectives questioned him, the Sheriff's Office said. He is in the Lafourche Parish jail in lieu of a $750,000 bond.Galjour was found outside, said Deputy Brennan Matherne, Sheriff's Office spokesman. Detectives believe the shooting happened shortly before they got the call.“Louisiana law clearly defines when a homicide can be considered justifiable, and the circumstances of this shooting do not make it justifiable,” Lafourche Sheriff Craig Webre said in a statement. “It is unknown at this time why Galjour was in that neighborhood, but through Chouest's own admission, Galjour was lying down and had not made any threatening movement or given any other indication that would have led a reasonable person to be in fear of his life thereby justifying the use of deadly force.”

Staff Writer Katie Urbaszewski can be reached at 448-7617 or katie.urbaszewski@dailycomet.com.